#SRCZ Music Review // Gwenno – ‘Y Dydd Olaf’ (Heavenly Records)
In
a sea of great records released so far in very fruitful year this apocalyptic
concept album sung in Welsh and Cornish from Gwenno is already a unique one. More importantly, it’s been fascinating us to
the point of making words on its very existence almost impossible. But that’s only a good thing, at least where
music is concerned.
Former member of the Pipettes, Gwenno Saunders has created an album that flirts with the electronic influences of recent movements in the dream pop genre but is much more than that. Its generation is as fascinating as its birth and appropriate given the times we live in. Based upon Welsh author Owain Owain’s science fiction novel of the same name ‘Y Dydd Olaf’ the concept of the album considers what happens when robots take over the Earth and make human beings into a slave race.
Of
course, it’s a deeper story than that but the core of the album is the
beautiful noises that soundtrack the concept and just as they are beautiful they
are also extraordinarily dramatic as well. Even for those unfamiliar with the
Welsh language, there is much to enjoy in the textures that provide dynamic
tension to the narrative. One of our favourite moments is when the ethereal intro
to ‘Sisial Y Mŏr’ gives way to the sinister keyboard melodies that characterise
the song, the chiming synth effects of the last half a beautiful and dramatic
extra flourish.
On
original release the album was snapped up by and quickly sold out and it’s not
difficult to hear why. This music may be social commentary, a quasi political
statement on Feminist terms using the beautiful language of Wales, but there is
a shimmering beauty to the album that keeps the narrative flowing and the
listener’s expectations high. When we first heard ‘Patriarchaeth’ we were so
impressed with the sheer uniqueness of the project it was pretty much a winner
immediately.
As
a whole though, how does Y Dydd Olaf hold up on repeated listening? The answer
is very well. The influence of krautrock
becomes increasingly obvious and (if you’re curious about the story) the urge
to track down a copy of the original book grows stronger. In fact, like music
in general, the understanding of the words matters not one little bit as the sonic
textures tell a story in their own right. As concept albums go, Y Dydd Olaf (‘The Last
Day’) may well be up there with the best. But perhaps that can be judged with
another listen? Maybe so…
(S.Gahan)
